Guard for protecting machine operators



W. WOELFEL.

GUARD FOR PROTECTING MACHINE OPERATORS. APPLICATION FILED MAR 9. 1920.

1,384,501 Patented July 12, 1921.

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WILLIAM WOEIJFEL, OF PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS.

GUARD FOR PROTECTING MACHINE OPERATORS.

Application filed March a,

To all 107L077), it may concern Be it known that I, lViLLIAM Vonnrnn, a citizen of Austria, and resident of Peabody, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Guards for Protecting Ma chine Operators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved guard for protecting machine operators against injury and more particularly to an apparatus adapted to protect the operators of power presses or the like.

In a number of arts heavy power presses are used for the purpose of stamping or embossing metal, leather or other materials and for purposes of a like nature and in many of these processesthe hands of the operator or feeder of the press are required to be placed momentarily between the jaws of the press in depositing or arranging the material to be operated upon, in. cleaning the dies or in other work. In order to speed up the work, operators often take dangerous chances by starting the machine before removing their hands, in the expectation of withdrawing the hands as the machine closes. Such methods of operation have in the past proved extremely dangerous to operatives and have caused the loss of fingers and of hands. Experience has proved that any safety device in any way depending upon the operator is of little if any value,

"as the machine operators, especially if work ing by piecework, will eliminate or ignore any safety devices if it is in any way possible to do so.

A safety device to be effective must be positive in its action and must be positive in its protection. Endeavors have heretofore been made to provide guard screens for a power presses in which the guards moved downward. In some cases the action of the guard has been made positive and has often resulted in injuries to the operator but little less serious than those caused by the machine proper. In other cases guards have been made yielding in their action and have been ignored or held out of the way by the operators with consequent danger to themselves. 7

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine guard which is both positive in its action and positive in the safety afforded; to provide a guard which is extremely simple in construction and operation and comparatively inexpensive to manu- Specifieation of Letters Iatent. Pat ented J ly 12 1920. Serial No. 364,593.

facture. It is a further object to provide a guard which is directly operated by the action of the machine to which it is attached wlth the requirement of but a slight amount of power for its movement. It is also an obect to provide a guide which will positively remove the operators hands or arms from proxnnity to the machine at the dangerous period in its cycle of operation and which :Wlll accomplish this without any danger of injury'due to the operation of the safety device itself. Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

My invention broadly includes a member moved by the operation of the press or similar machine and adapted to forcibly remove the hands of the operator though without danger of injury thereto. In the specific embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings I have accomplished this desired result by providing a bar extending below the working opening of the machine, the bar being automaticallyraised by the closing movement of the press and in its upward movement positively lifting the hands of the operator from the press. The bar at no time engages any other portion of the machine and cannot in any way injure the operator but does positively prevent his hands from remaining in the press long enough during the closing movement to be in any danger therefrom.

A preferred form of my device is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a face view of a portion of a power press showing my invention attached; and

Fig. 2 is a view of Fig. 1 as seen from the left side. i

The power press is shown diagran1matically in the drawings as comprising the base member 3, standards 4, lower movable abutment 5, upper member 6 and upper fixed abutment 7 and is not a part of the present invention, being shown to illustrate the ap-- 12, the bottom of which is weighted by the rod 13. The actuating arm 14 is attached to the rod 21 by a collar 15 with set screw 16 and its outer end is pivoted to the connecting rod 17.

The lower end of the connecting rod 17 has a plurality of spaced pin holes therein and fits into the adjusting member 18, be ing held in predetermined relation thereto by a pin 19 fitting through the member 18 and any one of the pin holes desired. The

lower end of the adjusting member 18 is p1voted to the actuating member 20 which latter is fixedly attached to the lower movable.

with it the actuating member 20, which through the rod 17 and arm 1% swings the guard 9 upward. Tiis upward movement lifts the arms of the operator and forces the withdrawal of his hands from the press. Due to the length and form of the levers the guard is swung upward sufficiently to accomplish its functlon before the jaws have closed sulliciently to be dangerous. The movement is sufficiently slow however so as not to impart an injurious blow to the arm of the operator and yet it forcibly causes the hands to be withdrawn from the press.

The curtain 12, held down by the weight of the rod 13, acts when the jaws are open to prevent the operator from working by inserting'his hands below the rod 9 instead of above it, and also prevents the hands from being reinserted below the rod after having been forced out above it as the jaws of the press close.

lVhile l have illustrated the present embodiment of my device asconnected to a press the lower jaw of which moves upward it is obvious that it may be used without material modification regardless of which jaw moves and also if both jaws move.

lVhile I have illustrated it in connection with a press it may be used with any type of machine having parts moving relative to each other. lhe device is positive in its action and certain in its protection and yet is so simple as to be substantially foolproof.

I claim:

1. A guard device for use with a power press having a movable awand a fixed aw, and comprising a member normally arranged to lie substantially in the plane of the movable jaw and link and lever connections between such movable jaw and said member so constructed and arranged as positively to move said member simultaneously with and in substantially the same direction as such movable jaw, saidreonnections including a longitudinally extensible member.

2; A guard device for use with a powerpress having a vertically movable abutment and fixed abutment, comprising a substantially ll-shaped frame pivotally supported adjacent its ends and having its cross bar normally lying substantially in the plane of the movable abutment when-the latter is in open position and connections between said frame and the movable abutment of the press whereby, upon movement of the latter respectively positively to swing said frame thereby moving the cross bar thereof in the general direction of movement of said abutment and at a greater speed.

3. In combination with a power press having a fixed upper aw and a movable lower jaw, a rod rotatably mounted in fixed bean ings and extending transversely across the press and above the plane of the upper jaw, a U-sha )ed frame having its ends secured to said rod, and having its cross bar normally substantially in the plane of the opened lower jaw, and link and lever connections between said rod and said lower jaw whereby upon movement of the latter to swing said cross bar upwardly and outwardly.

4. T he combination with the movable and fixed portions of a power press, of a guard having a member adapted to be attached to one portion of the press and a guard member pivoted upon said. member, means associated with said member and with the other portion of the press whereby the guard member is moved across the opening between said portions of the press during the closing movement thereof and in a direction generally corresponding to that of the movable portion, and means depending from said guard member and adapted to cover said opening A guard device for punch presses having a fixed upper jaw and a movable lower jaw comprising a pivotally supported U- shaped frame constructed and arranged when in work feeding position to permit the insertion of the operators arms between the jaws of the press, and connections for swinging said frame upwardly whereby to lift the operators arms by engagement of the closed end of the frame therewith upon actuation of the movable jaws of the press.

6. In combination with apower press having a movable work supporting jaw, a U- shaped frame pivotally supported at points 120 adjacent the ends of its legs, the cross bar of said frame normally lying substantially in the plane of the work supporting jaw, and positive means for swinging said frame in timed relation to the actuation of the movable work supporting jaw of the press whereby to carry said cross bar to a different level.

Signed by me at Peabody, Massachusetts," this fifth day of March, 1920. v y

" WILLIAM WOELFEL. 

